From Mercenaries to Market

The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Edited by Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnardt

Contributors include a range of key providers, consumers, regulators, and opinion-makers, including writers who have worked closely with the industry and bring key insights into both the theory and the practice of PMCs

Timely examination of the recent proliferation of PMCs, and their current prominence following scandals in Iraq

Relevant for governments as they begin to formulate their policy responses to PMCs

Specific focus on regulation of this new industry

From Mercenaries to Market

The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Edited by Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnardt

Description

Frequently characterized as either mercenaries in modern guise or the market's response to a security vacuum, private military companies are commercial firms offering military services ranging from combat and military training and advice to logistical support, and which play an increasingly important role in armed conflicts, UN peace operations, and providing security in unstable states.

Executive Outcomes turned around an orphaned conflict in Sierra Leone in the mid-1990s; Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI) was instrumental in shifting the balance of power in the Balkans, enabling the Croatian military to defeat Serb forces and clear the way for the Dayton negotiations; in Iraq, estimates of the number of private contractors on the ground are in the tens of thousands. As they assume more responsibilities in conflict and post-conflict settings, their growing significance raises fundamental questions about their nature, their role in different regions and contexts, and their regulation.

This volume examines these issues with a focus on governance, in particular the interaction between regulation and market forces. It analyzes the current legal framework and the needs and possibilities for regulation in the years ahead. The book as a whole is organized around four sets of questions, which are reflected in the four parts of the book. First, why and how is regulation of PMCs now a challenging issue? Secondly, how have problems leading to a call for regulation manifested in different regions and contexts? Third, what regulatory norms and institutions currently exist and how effective are they? And, fourth, what role has the market to play in regulation?

From Mercenaries to Market

The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Edited by Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnardt

Table of Contents

Foreword, James Jonah Introduction, Simon Chesterman, Chia LehnardtI Concerns 1: Morality and Regulation, Sarah Percy 2: What should and what should not be regulated?, Kevin O'BrianII Challenges 3: Weak governments in search of strength: Africa's experience of mercenaries and private military companies, Angela McIntyre & Taya Weiss 4: A government in search of cover: private military companies in Iraq, David Isenberg 5: Transitional states in search of support: PMCs and security sector reform, Elke KrahmannIII Norms 6: Private military companies under international humanitarian law, Louise Doswald-Beck 7: Private military companies and state responsibility, Chia Lehnardt 8: Domestic regulation: licensing regimes for the export of military goods and services, Marina CapariniIV Markets 9: The emerging market for private military services and the problems of regulation, Deborah Avant 10: Make or buy? Principal-agent theory and the regulation of private military companies, James Cockayne 11: Contract as a tool for regulating private military companies, Laura Dickinson 12: Regulating the role of private military companies in shaping security and politics, Anna Leander 13: The future of the market, Andrew Bearpark & Sabrina Schulz 14: Conclusion: From mercenaries to market, Simon Chesterman, Chia Lehnardt Bibliography Index

From Mercenaries to Market

The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Edited by Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnardt

Author Information

Edited by Simon Chesterman, Global Professor and Director of the New York University School of Law Singapore Programme, and an Associate Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore, and Chia Lehnardt, Doctoral candidate, at Humboldt University, Berlin

Contributors:

From Mercenaries to Market

The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Edited by Simon Chesterman and Chia Lehnardt

Reviews and Awards

"As a resource, From Mercenaries to Market serves only as a starting point, but a very good one. At only 256 pages, and covering many different topics relating to PMCs, it is impressive that the contributors provide so much useful analysis and information. Every contribution is well cited, and chapters are complimented by a select bibliography that makes taking the next step easy for inquisitive readers" - Alex M. Feldman, Journal of International Law and Politics

"Despite some critical remarks, both books offer interesting and serious scholarship about a very difficult and controversial topic. In addition, both books offer some fresh angles and even new topics that are not usually examined in the PMC discourse" - Erkki Holmila, Finnish Yearbook of International Law